


fantasy, dream about me

by miniyuk



Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bookstore, M/M, Meet-Cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-15
Updated: 2019-09-15
Packaged: 2020-10-19 01:02:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20648654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miniyuk/pseuds/miniyuk
Summary: Hyungwon trips over a box of second-hand books that the owner of a newly-opened bookstore has put out on the sidewalk, and almost faceplants. He storms into the shop to give the owner a piece of his mind, only to find that the owner is the cutest man he's ever seen in his life.





	fantasy, dream about me

_"Number 16, Chae Hyungwon."_

Hyungwon was pissed. The audition he just left was not one he was satisfied with. 

When he arrived at the local theatre, he realized he looked too much of a mess with his shirt sticking to his body and the sweat from running from the bus stop just sliding down his back. The black shirt he wore was left with the top two buttons undone. At least he was fortunate enough to pick one that didn't wrinkle easily.

Only once he sat down that he noticed how the others were mostly dressed the way the characters were portrayed. At this point he could not even bother about his appearance and he went right into the character as soon as he was called in.

He was underprepared and he knew it. Hyungwon only got to prepare for this audition for a month by himself. After finishing his internship for a production house two months back, he had not been receiving proper acting lesson. He only relied on his several half-assed more-goofing-than-practice with Minhyuk between the older’s working shifts at the coffee shop. But it was thanks to his fellow intern who happened to be a singing genius, one Yoo Kihyun, that he could at least got proper lesson for his less-trained vocal.

The first part of the audition was for the acting. After checking for his name and the character he was aiming for, the people who were going to evaluate him didn't even bother to look at him. And it pissed him off than it should be. With some harsh exhales he tried to contain the bubbling anger about to spill out and channel it to the character he was portraying. They only let him do the part he had practiced for before stopping him midway with a "continue," urging him to go on to the singing part of the audition.

Hyungwon collected himself, trying to even his breathing before going for the singing. He had chosen a song sung for the climax of the musical. He was sure it was hard to showcase his vocal color through it but there was nothing that he would lose if he did it.

It was hard to get an okay from Kihyun during practices but Hyungwon could hear for himself that he got better with every practice. But, singing it this time was not the best that he could offer. Usually he was lacking in confidence when it came to singing in front of others, but his energy was drained from running and acting that he pushed himself as far as he could. With a finalized "thank you" from one of judges, he bolted out of there fast.

Once he was out on the side of the main street, Hyungwon took a turn to the right instead, heading to the general direction of his home by foot. He knew all too well that at this time of the day the bus would be too crowded, especially if he tried to get on the bus from the stop on the busy street right across the theatre. In time of uncontained fury, a walk and talk to Minhyuk might do him better.

_"How was it?"_ Minhyuk spoke as soon as the first ring was picked up. Hyungwon could tell that his best friend had just woken up from the husky voice that sound huskier than on normal days. 

"It was shit! They completely disregard the parts I have practiced and rehearsed,” he continued walking while fumbling with the backpack he took his phone from. “They didn’t even bother to look at me.”

_“You have tried your best though,”_ Hyungwon could tell his best friend was sympathizing because he sounded calmer than usual. They bickered a lot if anyone ever saw them in the same room together, but he could say that if there was only one person that knew him better than the pillows he usually screamed to, it would be Minhyuk.

“Well, I- shit-“

“Wonnie?”

Hyungwon caught himself before falling face first onto the ground. He managed to save his phone curled tightly around his fingers. Just a little amount of anger spilled out and the poor device would have been crushed to pieces.

“Min.. I will talk to you later when I’m home. Bye!”

There were ‘emotions’ bubbling in his mind and all of them asked for something/someone to blame for; the exhaustion from running to catch the audition, the uneventful reaction to said audition, the enormous pile of books he was about to trip from, and obviously the sky growing darker above his head.

He walked up the few steps up to the storefront. There were barely any light coming in or out the room. There was a curtain right behind the door, hiding a poorly dimmed room full of disarrayed shelves. He walked closer and found more books in piles or boxes, the shelves lining the walls were covered with blinds.

Then, he heard some rustling in what he assumed was the staff room. Before he walked past the front desk, he noticed someone crouching. This someone was crouching to dust off the lower drawer of a desk. Hyungwon thought it was stupid how someone wears a bright sea blue apron while dusting off the old rusty wooden desk. Everything about this day was stupid.

There were dusts everywhere and this stranger before him thought that it was ok to wear a black shirt under his sea blue apron. Hyungwon was questioning the man who looked small crouching with the cuffs of his loose jeans rolled up messily and the light brown hair peeking from underneath the grey beanie. 

With a mask taking over more than half of his face, the other guy stood up. From a short distance, Hyungwon could see that the apron-wearing guy was only a good few inches shorter than him. His expressive eyes best showed that he was surprised. 

"I’m sorry but we are not open yet," the guy, probably a worker there, pulled his mask down to his chin and flashed Hyungwon a smile. It created a deep crater on each of his cheeks.

There was a response caught in his throat. What Hyungwon wanted to say were: he didn’t come to buy anything, what about the books still ignored outside, the sky was dark enough for a thunder; but then he lost his words at the absolute cuteness before his eyes. Hyungwon noticed the smile started to falter in the stranger's face from his silence. For sure, the curses and anger dissipated.

"N-no it was not that. The books,” Hyungwon pointed to his back, to the storefront, “are still outside. I think there is a storm coming." He could tell when realization dawned on the possibly worker of the store, eyes round and his small mouth forming a perfect O.

"OH RIGHT THE BOOKS!"

The stranger went around the desk and past him to get the books outside. Hyungwon turned around and he could see the worker pilling the books more than what he could actually carry up the stairs. When he got back outside, the sun was already in its hiding.

"Do you need help?" Hyungwon crouched down to where the other guy was busy with the books.

"Thank you so much," the worker offered a sheepish smile that Hyungwon could not help but return.

“My name is Jooheon,” the guy only looked at Hyungwon once before getting himself busy gathering the books to one side, “I work here with my friend, Hoseok, but he is not here right now. That’s why I have no one helping me out right now.”

Hyungwon then introduced himself, without telling the dimpled guy before him that he just got back from a rather shitty audition and was about to storm inside the store to give whoever was responsible for the books a piece of his mind. But seeing how the weather was gloomy enough to set the mood, he would rather they talk about themselves than uncertain stuff that would not do him any good.

Once they settled with a pattern of Hyungwon arranging the books in the boxes and Jooheon carrying them up the stairs, they started to work. Every now and then Hyungwon looked up at the slowly darkening skies. First, he heard the grumble of the incoming storm above his head, and then the heavy rain poured down just moments after he set the last pile of books on the desk in the middle of the room.

As soon as everything was under the roof, Jooheon immediately went to compile the books into labelled boxes. Only when the loudest storm hit did he notice that Hyungwon was still there.

“Oh my, the weather is really bad,” Jooheon was on his knees surrounded by boxes upon boxes that he had to strain his neck to take a look outside through the window. “I’m sorry because you were helping me now you cannot get home.”

“It’s ok. I’m glad to be of help. I would rather be here than squeezing myself small between the people waiting for the bus, anyway.”

“You are going home by bus?”

“Yes. My home actually is not that far, it’s just that at this time of the day the buses would be too full.” Hyungwon then approached the shorter guy, “I might as well make myself useful and help you. Is there anything I could do?”

“Maybe you could help me put some of the books and frames on the upper row of the shelves.”

Then they continued working. They took out the ladder and Hyungwon started putting the books while Jooheon gave him everything needed to be placed.

To fill the void and ignore the sound of the heavy rain, they shared stories while filling up the shelves. Hyungwon learnt that Jooheon and Hoseok, both of the co-owners of the bookstore, write as a professional job. He joked saying that he would dig through the piles of books to find their books but even after a lot of pestering, Hyungwon still was not allowed to see or read what they write. In exchange, Hyungwon also shared about his past job at several film production houses; how he was still trying to gain as much experiences for his resume before finally using his film studies degree.

“Do you want to stay for dinner?” Hyungwon was looking down to get another book to put when he noticed Jooheon with his head down and fumbling with his apron below. The shorter one looked back up at him and it was like there was an electric shock coursing through his blood, “I-I mean, after this we can go to the ramen place next door, if that’s okay with you. It’ll be my treat!”

“Sure!”

****

It was still drizzling when Jooheon and Hyungwon left the store. The younger one insisted that he would close the store up earlier since he already got a lot of things done with Hyungwon’s help. When they arrived, they saw that there were not that many people in the ramen place. Only one couple and a group of people warming and taking shelter from the rain. After taking their place at a booth, they listed down what they wanted to eat and Jooheon went to order for the both of them.

Hyungwon was exhausted. He ran earlier in the day, sang the best he could, then spent the rest of the day helping with carrying and putting the books at the store. He felt up his tense muscles but he was not tired. He knew his body could only take so much activities unprompted but he was not ready for the day to end. Not when he still had so much to know and talk about with the cute dimpled bookstore worker heading his way.

“Thanks for helping me out,” Jooheon said as he sat down behind him on the booth. “I’m sorry for working you out and now you’re gonna get home so late.”

“No,” Hyungwon turned in his seat to look straight at him. “It’s thanks to you, for the shelter and the treat.”

“No. You were being an angel, for helping me”

Hyungwon knew it was just the younger being nice. Often times he elbowed the books on the lower shelves and hit the younger on his face while trying to put ones on the higher row. It was embarrassing.

He lowered his head in shame, he knew well that Jooheon were only being friendly. Before he could look back up, there was sweet warmth on his left cheek. If the outside weren’t so dark already, Jooheon could definitely tell by the lights reflected on his face that his cheeks were as red as apples.

“Will I be seeing you again?”


End file.
